The present invention relates to a method for measuring the metabolic rate of oxygen, that is, the rate at which oxygen is utilized, in an internal body organ or tissue. More particularly, the invention relates to such a method in which variations per unit of time of the reflection spectrum of the organ or tissue are measured using biospectrometry.
Conventionally, in clinical diagnosis and medical research, visual observation of internal organs or tissue is an important diagnostic technique. Using recently available methods, various parts of internal organs can be directly observed macroscopically utilizing an optical transmission system, for example, optical fibers such as those employed in a gastro camera, to thus greatly improve clinical diagnosis. However, such macroscopic observation cannot provide objective and quantitative diagnosis since it depends largely on the doctor's skill and experience. Further, the oxygen metabolism of the organ tissue is commonly determined by excision of a portion of the tissue or calculated by comparing the venous and arterial pressures of the blood flow from and to the organ and the flow rate thereof. These techniques are, unfortunately, often accompanied by infection of the organ or tissue being examined.